Lincoln, NE-Gateway to the West?

HuskerNation1

HuskerNation1

All-American
I know St. Louis and the famous arch are considered the Gateway to the West, but in terms of college football, I am wondering if Nebraska's move to the Big Ten, coupled with Riley's familiarity with the West coast, are a reason for our recent success out there. For kids who have grown up on the West Coast, playing in the Big Ten provides an opportunity to experience the rest of the country (upper midwest, DC, New York, etc..), and with Lincoln positioned as the most Western city in the conference, it also means a shorter flight home for many of these kids. Nebraska is really middle America, and I think can appeal to many parts of the country as its not too Eastern, too Southern, or too Western. We've been told for years that its too difficult to recruit in Lincoln because of the location, but I'm starting to wonder if it just requires the right coaching staff and personnel to make it happen.

 
I am guessing it is mostly due to Riley, not geography. Once you are outside of an easy drive, flying to Lincoln is just as easy as flying anywhere in the continental U.S., more or less.

 
IA State Husker said:
I am guessing it is mostly due to Riley, not geography. Once you are outside of an easy drive, flying to Lincoln is just as easy as flying anywhere in the continental U.S., more or less.
Click to expand...
That's definitely not true. Many of the major universities are less than an hour from a major (often international) airport.

Lincoln is at least an hour away from eppley and there are few direct flights into Omaha.

One of the most misguided decisions the NCAA has made is abolishing the use of private aircraft for getting players in for visits at places like Nebraska and Virginia tech.

 
Do you mean gateway to the east (or more accurately the Midwest)?

I think the OP is fully of rationalizing and wishful thinking, but I guess we'll see.

 
CC-121210_HR_Amundson-0307-9138f697.jpeg


hqdefault.jpg


"Hey, hey! See that, kids? That's the Archway Monument. The Gateway to the Midwest. It's over 60 feet tall and there's an escalator all the way to the top. That's 6 stories to you and me."

"Wow! Dad, can we go in it?"

"No."

"Dad, what river is this?"

"Ahh, That's the mighty Platte.

(deep voice) Fl-a-a-a-at waterrr...

♪♪ My home is over Jordan... ♪♪.

."

"Clark, I think this is the wrong exit."

"What's the difference? As long as we get across this flyover state."

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nebraska has a ton to offer football recruits. I think the thing this staff has demonstrated is it's just a matter of putting in the work.

 
The Dude said:
Nebraska has a ton to offer football recruits. I think the thing this staff has demonstrated is it's just a matter of putting in the work.
Click to expand...
I think that is too simplistic. This staff is busting their humps but quite a bit of the results so far are from leveraging relationships they have been building in California for quite a while. Williams is using those contacts better than anyone at this point. Previous staffs just didn't have the connections in CA on this level.
I am really intrigued to see what happens in the 2018 class when keyshawn Johnson is no longer involved to give things a boost. Is the momentum continued from signing a monster class in 2017 or do we come back to earth?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I certainly agree with your comments about leveraging connections. That's what this crootin' game is all about.

That being said, I stand by my comment, and I happen to think it contains the exact correct amount of simplicity.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
The Dude said:
Nebraska has a ton to offer football recruits. I think the thing this staff has demonstrated is it's just a matter of putting in the work.
Click to expand...
The bolded is key IMO. This staff leverages it all to the max and the last one didn't. I think the work they're putting in is a lot smarter than the work the last staff put in.

Prodigious effort is nice. So is excellent effort.

 
By saying our last staff didn't recruit well, (a) youre taking a back handed swipe at the current t talent, (b) you're ignoring that there have been several facility upgrades and support staff expansions and © youre ignoring that our classes had strong rankings and a lot of kids who were highly ranked.

There's a lot of hype associated with California connections, and I don't feel like sinking to the level of some of you and disparaging our current recruits. So, I'll just say, a different geo strategy doesn't mean we are necessarily recruiting better.

 
cm husker said:
By saying .....(a) youre ......(b) you're ignoring ........© youre ....................
Click to expand...
I have a lot more reading-into insight with your posts than you'll ever have with mine (or anybody's for that matter). I doubt you'd understand me if I said we'll be a much improved team this year and next year.

 
cm husker said:
By saying our last staff didn't recruit well, (a) youre taking a back handed swipe at the current t talent, (b) you're ignoring that there have been several facility upgrades and support staff expansions and © youre ignoring that our classes had strong rankings and a lot of kids who were highly ranked.

There's a lot of hype associated with California connections, and I don't feel like sinking to the level of some of you and disparaging our current recruits. So, I'll just say, a different geo strategy doesn't mean we are necessarily recruiting better.
Click to expand...
This staff could recruit a Top 5 class and win the national championship, and you'd find something to complain about regarding this staff, while defending Pelini and his clown show staff. We just hosted one of biggest recruiting weekends maybe ever, and this staff has a ton of momentum right now. How can you honestly say that this staff, now that they have established themselves here, aren't recruiting better than the last staff. That's not disparaging the kids the last staff recruited, but if you can't see that we need A LOT better talent to compete for championships, you're friggin' blind. And it's coming, though I'm sure you won't see it or admit to it because your hate for Riley and Co. is obviously blinding you.

 
What will be amusing is if the staff wins the B10 next year. Will we have to hear about it was all done with the last guys recruits, as the arguments against solich and pelini went?

As to the comparisons of who are better recruiters, we'll have to wait and see. I remember a lot of hype during a lot of other years too. The '11 class signed like 6 players who were ranked more highly than our highest ranked current recruit and ultimately that class was not very productive, at least at the top of it.

So, I'm not buying the hype just yet.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top